Chapter Number 5 (Jeff) Brief description of the plot:
This chapter has an overlying burden of money. Everything that is mentioned relates back to the importance of being financially stable. The chapter starts out with the "purchase" of their new home. The truth is that they do not really own the home, for if they are not able to make even one payment, they can legally be evicted from the house. The chapter goes on to talk of how hard it is to find a job in Packingtown, for so many people want a job. It also demonstrates the American Dream. Ona and Jurgis, although they know that they are very low on money, choose to buy furniture. They want to release the image that they are financially stable, and that they are able to buy things that are not necessities. They hope that by acting wealthy, they will become wealthy. The chapter goes on to talk of the corruption of the companies/people who sold the furniture/silverware to them. The chapter starts to wind up with a description of Antanas Rudkis, an old Lithuanian in search of a job. He is eventually approached by an unkown man, who manages to give him a job. This job that Antanas has is used to emphasize the horrible conditions that the workers have to work in. The chapter ends with a realization concerning the "American Dream" from Jurgis. (Explained in quotes section.) Characters in the Chapter:
Jurgis, Ona, Cousin Marija, Teta Elzbieta, Antanas Rudkis Notable passages (including page number):
Pg 57 - "He was quite dismayed when he first began to find it out- that most of the men hated their work. It seemed strange, it was even terrible, when you came to find out the universality of the sentiment; but it was certainly the fat-they hated their work. They hated the bosses and they hated the owners; they hated the whole place, the whole neighborhood-even the whole city." This exemplifies the attitudes of the workers towards their jobs.
Pg 59- "There was no place in it where a man counted for anything against a dollar." This demonstrates the constant pressure to obtain money and money is happiness, and compares it against the value of a man. This shows how important money was.
Pg 63 - "When he came home that night he was in a very somber mood, having begun to see at last how those might be right who had laughed at him for his faith in America." - This shows a turning point in Jurgis, for he sees that the "American Dream" is not all that it lives up to be.
Brief description of the plot:
This chapter has an overlying burden of money. Everything that is mentioned relates back to the importance of being financially stable. The chapter starts out with the "purchase" of their new home. The truth is that they do not really own the home, for if they are not able to make even one payment, they can legally be evicted from the house. The chapter goes on to talk of how hard it is to find a job in Packingtown, for so many people want a job. It also demonstrates the American Dream. Ona and Jurgis, although they know that they are very low on money, choose to buy furniture. They want to release the image that they are financially stable, and that they are able to buy things that are not necessities. They hope that by acting wealthy, they will become wealthy. The chapter goes on to talk of the corruption of the companies/people who sold the furniture/silverware to them. The chapter starts to wind up with a description of Antanas Rudkis, an old Lithuanian in search of a job. He is eventually approached by an unkown man, who manages to give him a job. This job that Antanas has is used to emphasize the horrible conditions that the workers have to work in. The chapter ends with a realization concerning the "American Dream" from Jurgis. (Explained in quotes section.)
Characters in the Chapter:
Jurgis, Ona, Cousin Marija, Teta Elzbieta, Antanas Rudkis
Notable passages (including page number):
Pg 57 - "He was quite dismayed when he first began to find it out- that most of the men hated their work. It seemed strange, it was even terrible, when you came to find out the universality of the sentiment; but it was certainly the fat-they hated their work. They hated the bosses and they hated the owners; they hated the whole place, the whole neighborhood-even the whole city." This exemplifies the attitudes of the workers towards their jobs.
Pg 59- "There was no place in it where a man counted for anything against a dollar." This demonstrates the constant pressure to obtain money and money is happiness, and compares it against the value of a man. This shows how important money was.
Pg 63 - "When he came home that night he was in a very somber mood, having begun to see at last how those might be right who had laughed at him for his faith in America." - This shows a turning point in Jurgis, for he sees that the "American Dream" is not all that it lives up to be.